The Wretchedness of the waste
by Mysterious wonderland
Summary: This is my own Alice in Wonderland story...with a twist...a creepy twist. Arirang's life is changed forever when she enters 'wonderland'
1. The frozen Waste Land

When people think of Alice in Wonderland, what do they think of? Perhaps cards and rabbits and an evil queen? Maybe weird beings and mad people? That was the tale Alice told but what if she was lying? What if she bent the truth?

Arirang Tsumora was always an average girl. She had average grades, average friends and average parents. She was basically an average fifteen year old. She may have been average but her sense of style was beyond average. She had a luminous, medium length, purple hair with stunning blue eyes. She always wore Lolita dresses filled with ribbons but she was in her school uniform most of the time. It consisted of an orange blazer which she always had buttoned up and a blue shirt underneath. Arirang also wore a red mini-skirt on going above her knees with long red socks on.

Arirang wasn't going to be the 'average' girl forever for you see, something happened to her and she was never the same person since then.

"Arirang, we're here!" Arirang was slumped in her chair on the coach. She was on a class field trip and fell asleep. Yuki Kim nudged Arirang awake.

"Five more minutes!" Arirang swung her body around making Yuki annoyed at her. Yuki rummaged through her bag until she pulled out a whistle. She blew into it hard awaking Arirang instantly. "I'M AWAKE! I'm awake!" Yuki chuckled and clipped her short brown hair out of her face. Yuki was the 'cool' girl. She was always in some kind of hood and jeans. She also had her iPod switched on to full blast too. Everybody on the coach was relieved when they arrived at the place as it meant they wouldn't have to listen to Yuki's music any more.

"Class, will you make an orderly line and exit the bus quietly please?" Mr Kumohira was the teacher of Arirang's class and one of the strictest teachers Arirang had come to terms with. He would always make Arirang attend 'night' school to catch up in class (it only finished at seven!). Arirang kicked up a fuss but ended up dragging her feet up from her chair and lining up with everybody else. The boys at the back were messing about that Arirang was so tempted to turn around and punch all of them in the face and get them to shut up. Instead of getting a week's detention, she decided to plug her ears and walk out the coach without hearing anybody.

"Mount Fuji is stunning!" Yuki stated. The view in front of the two girls was 'spectacular' (at least to Yuki). They could see everything from the frozen lake to the peak of the mountain.

"Seen it with my mum...about thirty thousand times!" Arirang had no interest in mountains at all. In fact, when she was older, she would just prefer to work in some kind of shop for all she could care. Yuki wanted her to achieve more though. Arirang was a talented piano player. Yuki wanted her to become something more in the music industry. Yuki wanted to be a heavy metal guitarist when she was older but Arirang found her guitar playing to sound as if it was the 'dying cat parade' so Yuki never picked up a guitar after Arirang made that speculation.

"Lighten up a little would you Arirang?" Yuki tried to turn her frown into a smile. Arirang just remained an emotionless zombie. She hated the trip. She had no interest in Geography at all; the only reason she was on the trip was because her mother thought it was a good idea for her to interact with other students. Arirang was terrible at making friends. She could act indifferent sometimes but other times, she was the strangest girl on planet Earth.

"Don't wanna." Arirang said. Yuki just sighed from frustration. Mr Kumohira began rambling about the history of Mount Fuji. Arirang wasn't interested one bit and was mimicking the way the teacher was talking. She then knew it was time to disappear from the group and return when they all had to go back to school. Anyway, besides Yuki, who would notice her missing? Arirang didn't have many friends. Not many people liked her as she had a very unique personality. She, Yuki and a couple of other people were her only friends. She was an outcast at school. Sure, she may have been an average girl but because she was quirky, not many people saw her as average.

When Arirang saw that nobody was looking, she tiptoed backwards then made a run for it. She ran as fast as she thought was necessary; until nobody was in view.

"Urgh, I hate running!" Arirang slumped herself on a nearby tree. She just ate on the bus so the food in her stomach wasn't settling. She put her hand on the tree and threw up the food she just ate. "SCREW THIS!" Once she finished, Arirang wiped her mouth and slouched down to the floor cradling her stomach. "I'm starving now!" Arirang gazed at the lake in front of her, which was frozen over with a sheet of crystal. Arirang slowly got up and walked over to the lake.

"Where's Arirang?" Yuki asked Mr Kumohira with a sense of panic in her voice.  
"How the hell should I know?" He wasn't bothered about Arirang. He knew that she probably snuck of somewhere as it happened every class trip she went on. However, she always returned after about half an hour. Arirang was a strange child to him. Yuki crossed her arms and ran off to find her only friend.

"Pretty!" Arirang saw her reflection in the ice. Her 'average' reflection. Arirang always disliked the way she looked. Her hair was dyed for a starter. Everybody always told her to keep her natural colour which was black but she didn't like black hair. It made her look 'emo' so she had it different to everybody else's (plus, she resembled her brother with black hair and he was the last person she **ever **wanted to look like!).

"ARIRANG!" Arirang heard Yuki calling her. She knew she would notice her absence. She chose to ignore Yuki's call and continued to look at the ice. "ARIRANG, I FOUND YOU!" Yuki ran towards her and patted Arirang's shoulder giving Arirang a shock. The shock penetrated from the tap caused Arirang to fall forward and fall flat on her chest. Yuki froze to the spot.

"Ow, that hurt!" Arirang rubbed her chest before realising where she was. She was kneeling on the frozen lake. "Uh oh…Yuki…HELP ME!" Yuki nodded and went to the edge of the lake and reached her hand out. "Keep calm Arirang! Grab my hand and I will get you back!" Arirang didn't dare to move, it was amazing how she could even lean on the ice without it cracking or melting. Moving would only increase the chances of it cracking; the outcome, death.

"I'm so cold Yuki!" Yuki tried to put one foot on the ice to rescue Arirang but she couldn't do it. Yuki was too scared to rescue her.

"A- Arirang, wait here, I'll be right back! I'll go and get Mr Kumohira!" Arirang panicked again and screamed after Yuki as she ran off to get help. As soon as Yuki left her, the most horrifying sound bellowed through Arirang's head, the ice was cracking…with Arirang still on it.

"Oh damn it!" In a moment of panic, Arirang tried to edge her way back to shore but the ice only began to crack quicker. But the panic didn't last long, before Arirang had a chance to get up properly, the ice had cracked and Arirang fell into the freezing cold water, sinking instantly to the bottom.

"MR. KUMOHIRA! MR KUMOHIRA!" Yuki came fleeing back to the group, out of breath from running so fast at such a distance. "Mr Kumohira, Arirang is on ice, the ice could crack! Help her!" Mr Kumohira's eyes widened in disbelief. He pushed up his glasses and flicked his brown hair behind his ears. "Where is she Yuki?"  
"Follow me!" Yuki grabbed hold of Mr Kumohira's arms and they ran back in the direction Arirang was in.

"She was meant to be here!" Yuki pointed to the lake where Arirang was. She ran to the edge and then noticed the crack. "Oh no..." Yuki couldn't think straight and ran onto the ice. "ARIRANG!" Yuki screeched. Mr Kumohira grabbed Yuki's sleeve before she went any further.  
"YOU IDIOT!" He pulled her back to shore. "She must have fallen through! We'll get the police but don't go onto the ice!" Yuki was in tears. Arirang was her only friend. Her best friend. She didn't want to lose her because she was stupid enough to make Arirang jump. After all, Yuki already lost one of her friends the week before. She couldn't bear to lose another one.

"Arirang, be okay, please!" Yuki assured herself that Arirang was okay. She hoped for her survival. She hoped that she escaped before it cracked but the way the crack was shaped; it looked as if somebody fell through, somebody being Arirang. Mr Kumohira patted Yuki's shoulder in a comforting way and took her back to the group. After returning to the group, Mr Kumohira explained to the group what happened. Everybody was surprised. Some people were in tears. Everybody was shocked by the sudden news.

"Urgh my head!" Arirang got to her knees and cradled her throbbing head. "What happened?" Arirang tried to refresh her memory. "I was on ice….then it cracked…" Arirang shot up. "I DIED! I SWEAR I DIED!" Arirang looked at her hands. There was blood on both palms. She slowly put her right hand on her head which was now covered in blood. "The ice cracked, I fell, hit my head and drowned maybe?" But it wasn't Arirang's head which was bleeding. The blood was dripping from something above her. She felt a frosty drip on her head. She lifted her head up to the source of the drips. When she laid eyes on 'it', her eyes widened in horror. She gasped and moved backwards for there was a severed head sticking on a branch on the tree. The whole tree was coloured crimson and the blood dripped down onto the trembling girl. Arirang also noticed that there wasn't just a severed head on the tree; there were other severed limbs on it, limbs and organs. Some limbs were actually skinned, showing the bone beneath it.

"Is this someone's idea of a sick joke?" Arirang felt sick inside, the mangled body was making her sick. She tried shutting her eyes but it was no good, her mind was playing tricks on her, making her see severed limbs in her head. The only other way was to run deeper into the wood, deeper into the 'wonderland'. Arirang stood up slowly; her gaze was locked on the blooded tree. She then slowly drifted backwards and fled from the tree. She ran as fast as lightning, through the forest. She stopped after a few minutes of running to catch her breath by a nearby oak tree.

"Where the hell am I? I was by Mount Fuji last! Under ice should be water so how am I alive…in this place? It looks like a demented version of Alice's wonderland!"  
"Did you say Alice?" Arirang heard a voice of a fifteen year old boy. She couldn't work out where it was coming from.

"W-who's there?" Arirang sounded shaky, she didn't know people could be alive…underwater. If she heard a voice, it meant that she wasn't actually alone. If she wasn't alone, it meant that maybe; just maybe, this person may be able to get her home.

"Isn't it polite to introduce yourself first?" A pair of eyes appeared from the tree. The eyes were bright blue and huge, bigger than her eyes. Arirang swallowed. She never saw a pair of floating, talking eyes before.

"I-I'm Tsumora Arirang. I got here after falling through a frozen lake, c-could you get me home?" The eyes rotated and a smile formed from the tree. This reminded Arirang of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.

"Hmm nah…I can't be bothered…" The smile and eyes transformed into a boy of fifteen. He looked like a complete punk. His hair was pink and purple striped, he had little cat ears and a tail which was also pink and purple striped. He was wearing a pink and purple striped hoodie with two random zips going horizontal. One was purple, one was pink. He was wearing short, pink and purple cargo shorts with long socks (she presumed) and purple and pink shoes.

"Who are you anyway?" Arirang asked. The cat-boy smiled again and disappeared then reappearing behind Arirang. "Hmm, I am the Cheshire cat. You can call me Chesh." He smirked and his eyes glowed up as he disappeared again.

"Where am I?" Chesh's eyes began rotating.  
"You're in the waste. This place is called the waste but you may know it as 'wonderland.'"  
"How was this place made?" Arirang was more than a little bit frightened. She didn't know the place, sure, she read Alice in Wonderland as a kid but she always thought it was fictional.

"People's imagination. People made this place purely by thought. One person would dream of the wood, then the people who live here and so on until this place is how it is today. Of course though, people did wonder here by accident too and then got trapped here." Chesh explained; it only made Arirang confused.

"Urm okay...did somebody imagine you up too?" Chesh's eyes suddenly turned pure black. His cat ears began transforming into what looked like devil horns his skin was also turning a dull grey colour making Arirang squeal.

"DON'T ASK PERSONAL QUESTIONS!" Chesh was beginning to look like a skeleton. Arirang took a step back and banged into the tree behind her. "I-I'm sorry!" Arirang had tears in her eyes. She only wanted to get back; to tell everybody she was alright. Chesh took deep breaths and he slowly regained his natural form.

"Sorry about that. I just don't usually like telling my story. I wasn't imagined, I came here to 'wonderland' by mistake. I'm just like you, looking for my way home. I've been here for over 300 years! My family and friends are dead. I have nobody left. Well, except from the March Hare." Arirang knew the March hare from the story.  
"Is he mad?" Chesh eyed Arirang.  
"Hmmm, childish but not mad, where did you hear that from?" Arirang looked down.  
"The story of Alice in wonderland. The characters are described differently to how you actually look. Have you got some paper and a pen?" Chesh disappeared for a second then reappeared with a sketch pad and some colouring pencils. Arirang was very good at art as well as music. She was good at drawing manga especially. Arirang knelt down and drew the Cheshire cat as he was described in the story of Alice in Wonderland.

"I DON'T LOOK LIKE THAT! SCREW ALICE, JUST BECAUSE I TURNED HER DOWN!" Chesh spat his words at Arirang. He sighed angrily and turned his back on Arirang.  
"What are you on about?" Arirang asked. She walked to the other side of the tree so she was facing Chesh.  
"A girl named Alice Kingsley did enter wonderland years back. She had a huge crush on me, it was completely obvious! She asked if I could be her boyfriend, I said no and she got angry at me and stormed off. I am already loyal to one person anyway! I'm taken!" Arirang listened to every word that was spoken. "So Alice really entered the waste?"  
"Yes, with her sister, Margaret Kingsley." Arirang couldn't make out last sentence. She knew Alice had a sister but didn't know that she came to the waste.  
"What happened to her?" Arirang became as curious as a cat. She wanted to know every detail that was said by Chesh. Chesh disappeared once again.  
"I don't feel like telling you!" Arirang was then completely and utterly alone once again. However it wasn't long until Chesh returned holding a dress.

"Put this on, your skirt seems torn." Chesh passed Arirang the dress. Arirang looked at it. The dress was a Lolita style dress. It was white but had a pink ribbon going around the middle. The bottom of the dress had a few frills but was mostly layered by three pieces of material.

"Well, put it on!" Chesh was staring at Arirang making her feel awkward.  
"Err but you're watching me!"  
"Shut up and do what I say!"  
"BAKA, YOU'RE WATCHING ME!" Chesh looked confused.  
"Oh right!" Chesh turned his back and gave Arirang the privacy she needed. Arirang quickly changed into the new dress and made some adjustments to her hair. She tied it into a side ponytail and clipped back her fringe into a side fringe with some clips she found in her pocket. She also slid some clips on her bangs just for decoration.

"What should I do with my uniform?" Chesh turned around and touched Arirang's uniform, making it disappear into thin air. "Poof, now, I'll take you to Rest and Peace." Arirang had no idea who Rest and Peace were. If they were the twins of 'wonderland' then surely they should have been called Tweedledum and Tweedledee?

"Rest and Peace?" Arirang asked, dumbfounded.  
"They're the twins that live in the waste, they get on very well. Alice named them Tweedledum and Tweedledee because they always sung this really creepy song and the chorus was like a toddler singing it and it mentioned those names. Oh by the way, I heard that there was a book released about Alice's adventure in 'wonderland' most of it was Bull crap but her description of the twins were perfect." A small smirk appeared on Chesh's face making Arirang bright red. Chesh gradually reached for Arirang's hand and kissed it.

"C-Chesh...you d-don't have to do that!" Chesh grinned.  
"My love told me I always had to this whenever I am in presence of a lady." Arirang blushed slightly. "Again, times have changed. Guys don't usually do this to girls' any-more." Chesh let of an adorable expression. "But Kit said I had too." Arirang shook her head.  
"Forget I said anything!" Chesh then held onto Arirang's hand and dragged her away.

'Am I in a dream?' Arirang kept thinking about the place she was in over and over again. She couldn't tell if she was still asleep on the couch or if she really was in a place called 'the waste'. As Chesh dragged her along, Arirang could actually take a good look at her surroundings. It looked like a normal wood but there were odd looking mushrooms growing. And by the mushrooms were skeletons, people who ate the mushrooms and died. Arirang felt sick as she stared at them. She also noticed a river which was the colour of blood then noticing bits of skin was floating along in the river. Arirang's stomach churned at the sight of it. She never witnessed a thing like it...ever.

"We're here. Keep quiet, Rest and Peace don't like loud noises." With that said, Chesh disappeared.


	2. The twins

"I sense somebody, Rest!" A peculiar voice stated.  
"I feel the presence of a girl, Peace!" Another voice stated. Arirang could hear the voices clearly. "Erm, I'm Arirang Tsumora and I-" Arirang was cut off by two pairs of fingers being shoved down her throat. "Silence girl!" The first voice said from the shadows. Arirang didn't get a good look at the twins. They were too fast for her to see.

"You're in our presence now!" The second person stated coldly. Arirang nodded making the twins release their fingers from her throat. Arirang immediately began gasping for air.

"Welcome Arirang!"  
"To our wonderland!" Both twins said at the same time. Arirang was able to get a proper look at the twins. She guessed them to be about fifteen years old. She could tell that one was a very boyish girl and the other was a very girly looking boy. Both the twins had ginger hair with a yellow hat on their heads with a tiny flag at the top of it. They were wearing the same clothes; a yellow shirt, orange dungarees and yellow and orange striped socks (the female twin having them going vertically and the male twin having them horizontal) with brown shoes. They had normal eyes but where coloured yellow.

"We are Rest **and** Peace or Rest **in** Peace!" Both twins claimed.  
"I'm Rest!" The boy said.  
"I'm Peace!" The girl said. The twins looked exactly the same except Rest had his fringe in a parting to the side and Peace had hers through the middle. Peace was also very boyish looking and Rest didn't have a very deep voice for his age so they looked and sounded the same.

"I'm Tsumora Arirang." Rest and Peace grinned at each other then looked Arirang in the eyes. Arirang gasped and took three steps backwards. She could feel her eyes being gouged out and her face being skinned with scissors. She thought her nails where being pulled out of her and that hands where cutting into her body. She could see the twins doing these things to her.

"Repent!" Both twins stepped back. Arirang snapped out of the hallucinations and collapsed to the ground gasping for breath. She couldn't believe how real everything felt. It felt all too real. Everything felt bad. Arirang felt awful.

"You're Japanese aren't you? Maybe we should say Repent in your language! Penitenziagite! Penitenziagite!" The twins yelled at the top of their voice.  
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Arirang stumbled backwards. The twins reacted to this and both crept towards her.

"Your name is Arirang right? Beautiful name! If my memory is correct, Arirang is the name of a traditional Korean folk song." Rest explained. Peace hugged Arirang close.  
"We're sorry about that. We don't like it here! We want to get out of the waste just as much as you do!" Peace explained with a hint of comfort in her voice.  
"You mean you arrived by mistake too? How did you get here? What happened?" Rest and Peace sat down next to Arirang.  
"It's a long story but it goes a little something like this:" The twins synchronised as they said it.

Rest and Peace or Vlad and Saskja Olga, where Russian twins who were abandoned by their parents when they were only babies. They grew up on the streets for fifteen years. They only ever had each other so they were very close and almost knew what the other twin was thinking and feeling. Saskja was very sick however. Living on the streets was rough on the twins but hit Saskja ten times as hard. She was barely alive by the time she hit fifteen. She was suffering from diseases like tuberculosis which she caught off a passing man. She also had a series of other illnesses. Vlad couldn't protect her no matter how hard he tried.

One unlucky day, Vlad was looking for food to eat as Saskja was trying to keep warm under the blanket. Saskja had long ginger hair going down to her elbows but as she didn't have a very womanly body (actually due to the fact she was almost anorexic) a gang walked past her one day and wouldn't leave her alone.

"I'll be back soon Saskja, I think a guy threw away some chips in a bin round there." Vlad kissed Saskja's forehead and ran off in the direction the bins where. Saskja tried to snuggle under blanket but she was too cold. Her clothes where ripped everywhere and she couldn't get any new ones. She could wash herself and her clothes on the river she was near but not buy new clothes.

"Look at her!" In the distance, Saskja could hear voices. She pretended to sleep and hope that the gang would walk straight past her. However, that did not happen. The group went around her, forcing Saskja to open her eyes. She looked at the people around her. There were about five boys, each between 18 and 24.

"She's got eye lashes! I told you she's a girl, Dmitry!" The first man spoke.  
"Well excuse me for not noticing, Matvei!" Dmitry replied.  
"Cut it out guys!" The middle man spoke.  
"SHUT IT PAVEL!" Both Dmitry and Matvei yelled.  
"Pavel has a point though!" The end man exclaimed.  
"Exactly. Well said, Ivan!" Pavel's twin brother spoke. He was standing next to Pavel and was nodding at everything his brother said.  
"Pyotr...you idiot!" Pavel whacked his brother over the head. Saskja felt very intimidated by the boys and knew she had to leave as soon as she could. Saskja slowly crawled out of her covers but as soon as she made one move, Matvei and Pavel grabbed her shoulders, pushing her firmly to the ground. She made a slight gasping sound and her shoulder instantly began bleeding.  
"Hey, Dmitry, are you still unsure of her gender?" Matvei sneered. He began laughing wickedly as he started to firmly rip of Saskja's clothes making Saskja scream out for help. Ivan held her shoulders firmly and Pyotr put a hand over Saskja's mouth, stopping her from making any further sounds.

"Hmm I was sure there where chips in here!" Vlad hopped out the bin and went over to the bin next to it. "Oh, it's this one. They're still warm!" Vlad smiled to himself. He slowly walked back to where Saskja was.

When Vlad got back, he saw his sister, on the floor naked under a blanket, trembling like hell. Vlad then saw the five men around her. He instantly ran straight to the five men around her.

"YOU IDIOTS! WHAT DID YOU DO TO SASKJA?!" Vlad yelled. "SHE'S SICK YA KNOW?" The five men began laughing sending Vlad on edge. He charged up to Pavel and grabbed his shirt; shoving him against the wall.

"If you've killed my sister, then...I'll kill you!" Vlad suddenly became sinister and wanted revenge for what the five men did to his twin sister. Vlad would've happily killed them in cold blood from the way he was feeling at that present moment of time.

"What you gonna do little dude? There's one of you and five of us!" Vlad gasped and punched Pavel ferociously across his face, knocking several teeth out and making Pavel fall unconsciously to the floor. The other four reacted and grabbed Vlad, thrashing him to the floor and kicking him violently.

"Stupid fool! He beat Pavel up! You gotta bleed!" Dmitry shouted. Vlad couldn't say anything. He felt his ribs crack as three people started kicking the hell out of him.

"Not...another...sound." A weak voice whispered behind the four men. Vlad could see it was Saskja. She was dressed in her old blanket and had blood on her forehead. She was trembling in her knees and her hands couldn't keep still either. Vlad could also see what was in Saskja's hand. She had hold of a silver gun that she and Vlad kept for self-defence. They claimed it when a middle aged man threatened them. Living on the streets was tough, not only for Saskja who was dying but for Vlad who had to learn some kind of martial art to protect his sick twin sister. After all, when Saskja dies, Vlad would have nobody. He might even resort to suicide if he got too depressed.

"Why don't we talk through this?" Ivan asked her. Saskja smirked.  
"No way. You hurt me then you beat up my brother. Unforgivable!" Saskja then started to shoot all the men without thinking twice. "UNFORGIVABLE, UNFORGIVABLE, UNFORGIVABLE, UNFORGIVABLE, UNFORGIVABLE, UNFORGIVABLE, UNFORGIVABLE! DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE!" Saskja was still shooting the men even after they were all dead. Vlad was covered in blood. Not just his blood but the blood of the five men. He suddenly became very afraid of Saskja. She looked like a psychotic killer who escaped from the mad house. Vlad swallowed twice and slowly crawled over to his sister. When he was closer to her, Vlad could see that Saskja was actually crying. She didn't want to kill those men but she was consumed by anger that she couldn't help killing everybody. Vlad stood up and hugged Saskja but in her moment of madness, Saskja shot Vlad through his chest.

"S...a...s...k...j...a..." Vlad gasped in pain and fell to the ground. Saskja's eyes widened in horror. She dropped the gun she was holding and looked at her blooded hands. "What...have I done?" Saskja collapsed to her knees and looked at her brother. "Vladimir? Vlad? Brother, wake up!" Saskja began nudging her brother.  
"Saskja...I'm...s-sorry!" Saskja began cradling Vlad in her arms.  
"Don't be sorry Vlad! It was all my fault! I...I HURT MY BROTHER!" Saskja burst into tears. "Vladimir...I'm so sorry, with my illness, I have been nothing but a burden to you! Thank you Vlad." Saskja softly kissed her brothers forehead for the last time. Vlad had tears in his eyes. He knew that Saskja wouldn't be able to look after herself. She was dying from tuberculosis and didn't have long to live. She was too weak to even move properly and whatever the men did to her only made her weaker.

"Vlad? Vlad...You promised we could be together forever! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Saskja couldn't stop crying. She was too upset and so confused about everything.  
"Goodbye...My sweet sister!" Vlad smiled before shutting his eyes for the last time.

"VVVLLLAAAADDDDD!" Saskja's head began spinning. She couldn't live without her brother. She picked up the gun next to her and shot herself to join her brother in that other place.

"And then we woke up here in the waste!" Rest and Peace explained. Arirang was almost in tears.  
"That's so sad. I don't think I would be able to live without my older brother!" Arirang wiped her eyes. "Just one thing Arirang, this place is dangerous...learn to fight. The hatter can help you but if you find the white rabbit first...run for your life! He's creepy!" Peace explained.  
"The white rabbit? I thought he was nice!" Rest and Peace burst out laughing.  
"The white rabbit? Nice? Don't make us laugh! He works for the queen of hearts! She's a scary person!" Arirang took in all the information.  
"I know that but he isn't that bad! He's just misunderstood!" Rest smirked.  
"He's mad! He can make his head explode! Those hallucinations we made you experience, the rabbit does that to you in real life while you're still alive!" Arirang chocked. "W-what? Really? Creepy!" Rest and Peace smiled.  
"That's why you need to learn to fight! Chesh can fight. When he arrived here, he was a hopeless little boy! That's what the hare says anyway. He got his abilities when he arrived here. Same for us. We can make people feel pain and hallucinate about their deaths. The hatter can teach you how to fight. Let's see, you're Japanese. You can use a Katana! The hatter has lots of weapons. He and the white rabbit have been fighting for years and years." Arirang took everything in. She never fought anybody before. So how was she able to kill somebody with a Katana sword?

"Urm, I've never used a Katana sword before!" The twins grinned.  
"The mad hatter knows how to use most weapons. He's been planning his secret plan. He wants to kill the white rabbit ever since he arrived here. The hare is on the hatter's side and as the hare is, Chesh is on their side. Me and Peace are on our own side. As long as somebody rests in peace, we are fine!" Rest and Peace both started laughing hysterically. Arirang forgot how creepy the twins where. They were the children of the grave yard. Their names proved it although they did go by the names Vlad and Saskja in there other life. If they got to the waste by dying, did that mean that she died when she fell through the iced lake? There where so many questions that turned in her head but she didn't know who to ask.

"Why did Chesh bring me to you?" The twins turned around and looked Arirang in the eye. "To decide your fate. Whether you will die here or live here." The twins said.  
"And? Will I die or live?" The twins laughed.  
"We're not telling! You'll have to find out yourself!" Rest and Peace both grabbed one of Arirang's arms and dragged her in the direction the hatter was.

"Just a heads up about the hatter...he's mad hence the name the mad hatter. Just another thing, he isn't mad because he was a hatter in his other life and went mad from the chemicals in all the hats, he went mad because he couldn't find his way home...he may try to kill you!" Arirang gasped.  
"What? Let me go! I refuse to go! You can't make me!" Rest and Peace's eyes turned red. Arirang could feel her guts being torn out of her insides and her arm being skinned alive by the twins. She screeched out in agony and collapsed to the floor in a trembling state.

"You will do as we say! Remember how strong our hallucinations can be! You're in our power! Rest **and** Peace or Rest **in** Peace?" The twins said. Arirang stood up slowly.  
"S-sorry. I am in your power." Rest and Peace patted Arirang's head.  
"Good girl. I thought you would pick the best decision." Rest said.  
"Now come on Tsumora Arirang." Peace snapped. The twins grabbed Arirang's arms again and dragged her off to visit the hatter.

"Here we are." Arirang arrived at a small garden. The bushes of the garden were painted dark red with green roses planted (which were also painted). There was a huge, ten ft. gate which was crashed open to reveal a table with a blue cloth on.

"Ooh you're visiting the hare?" Arirang jumped to the sound of Chesh's voice whispering through her hair. She turned around to see that Chesh had actually followed her the entire time.

"Urm no, I'm visiting the hatter unless the hare hangs out with him. I read that he does." Arirang smiled softly at Chesh. Chesh put his hands to his chest and sighed.  
"The hare is my lover. That's the reason Alice hated me." Arirang realised that maybe the hare was actually female. Or maybe Chesh was female but she found that hard to believe. Chesh looked very masculine and had a deepish voice. But she never met the hare before. Arirang was beginning to feel like an idiot.

"I'm sorry about Haki; he is a little kid at heart." A deep sounding voice reassured. Arirang thought it may have been the hatter until the voice stepped out of the shadows. He was very tall and looked about eighteen years old. His hair was a delicate green colour and had hare ears popping out of his head. He was wearing a long black coat. It had diamonds stitched in at the bottom. His coat was left unzipped so Arirang could see his shirt. His shirt was light brown that went just above his belly button and he was also wearing a green tie that went to the top of his belt on his jeans. Arirang thought that he was very 'beautiful' and she blushed madly.

"Haaarrrreeeee I told you too call me Chesh here! Not Haki!" Chesh complained making Hare laugh out loud. He walked up to Chesh and ruffled his hair then went down and kissed his neck.

"But your original name is much cuter than Chesh. You can go ahead and call me Kit! It's better than Hare!" Chesh sighed, frustrated and stepped up and kissed Hare's lips. Arirang then knew the truth.

"YOU'RE DATING THE HARE? YOU'RE GAY?! WHHHAAAAATTTT?!" Arirang was too surprised to find the right words.  
"Problem? Are you homophobic?" Hare asked Arirang. She suddenly realised how she sounded. "N-no. I'm sorry. That sounded mean." Chesh grinned and hugged Hare tight who ruffled his hair again. "It's alright." Hare reassured her. The twins grabbed Arirang's arms again.

"Enough chit-chat. Where's Hatter?" Peace asked. She was a little annoyed at the whole situation. Arirang was left, blushing like a maniac.

"He's round the back. Careful, he's really mad today!" Hare explained. He usually hung out with Hatter when Chesh was away. It made him feel at home when he spoke to somebody. Even if they were a little mad.

"We're here. Use small words for him. He's a little mad." Rest and peace explained before opening the next gate to the garden.


	3. The dragon's grudge

Chapter 3, The Dragon's grudge.

"Hatter. We've brought somebody here to see you!" Rest yelled. Arirang could see that Hatter was nowhere. The garden was empty. There was a table with tea on but nobody sitting on that table and drinking that tea. The garden was fairly plain. The first garden had red bushes and green roses but the garden Arirang was standing in had green bushes but with no flowers on.

"Go away! Go away, go away, go away, go away! Stupid twins! Tweedledum, Tweedledee! Leave me alone!" Rest and Peace grew red with anger. Only Alice called them Tweedledum and Tweedledee mainly because of the song they sung. They only sung it if they were going to kill somebody. The twins then started to sing that song.

"Sing a silent song of your coming death! Maybe then he'll learn his lesson. When he has breathed his final breath, He will return to our session!  
Tweedledee, Tweedledum, Tweedledee, Tweedledum, stop in the blossoms!  
Tweedledee, Tweedledum, Tweedledee, Tweedledum, stop in the blossoms!" Rest and Peace sang the song that meant that somebody would die. The tune of the song gave Arirang the creeps. She then heard laughter from around the corner.

"You can try and kill me...it's irrelevant! Everything you two do is irrelevant! Maybe your blood should be spilt instead of mine? Hmm that would be interesting!" The voice sounded sinister. As if blood was spilt by this person. The twins both smirked and joined hands mumbling a slight spell under their breaths. But all of a sudden, a man appeared behind Rest and Peace holding a small dagger to each of their small necks. Arirang knew she had to do something but the man standing in front of her was the same man that could toughen her up and train her to use a weapon. She didn't know whether to attack this man and free the twins or stay out of it.

"HATTER, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Chesh barged through the garden and grabbed the dagger that Hatter had a firm grip on. "These two come with somebody who we thought you could help! This is Arirang Tsumora!" Chesh walked over to Arirang.  
"I'm Japanese so it's actually Tsumora Arirang and I-" Arirang was cut off by a cold stare from Chesh. "But Arirang Tsumora is fine!" Chesh nodded.  
"That's what I thought! Now, what's your weapon of choice? DRAGON, GET OUT HERE!" Hatter yelled. Arirang was expecting a butch man to be the Dragon but she was more wrong. The Dragon seemed to be a petite, Japanese girl of fifteen. She had Chestnut brown hair which was tied into pigtails going down the side of her chest. She had a white shirt on, like the kind people in Karate wear, and she had samurai-style trousers. Her outfit made her look fierce. She carried a bow with arrows on her back making her look like a warrior. She looked as if she belonged to Edo Japan. Her eyes where a gentle blue colour. Arirang recognised her almost straight away.

"Loveless? Is that you?" The girl's eyes widened, first from shock then from another emotion. She grabbed an arrow and held the bow; aiming for Arirang's heart. Loveless was always good at archery when she was back at home. She never missed her target, not even once.  
Loveless was missing for a week as she was having difficulty at school with her 'friends' and was being bullied by people. Arirang wagered that she committed suicide whilst Yuki thought she ran away from home and took the cowards way out. Loveless hated Arirang and Yuki. She was once there friend but her love for her friends turned into anger and hatred.

"If it was up to me, I'D KILL YOU!" Arirang had no shame for the girl standing in front of her.  
"It was your fault why we fell out!" Arirang sneered.  
"WHY IS IT MY FAULT?! I'll tell you everything that happened shall I?"

Loveless Shimizu was a fifteen year old girl. She was average height but was extremely kind to everybody and was very gentle. She started at the same middle school as Arirang and was put into the same class. Loveless' grades where amazing however. She studied extra hard at school and tried her best to fit; having the name Loveless, she got picked on an awful lot for it.

Arirang met Loveless through their friend, Yuki. Loveless hung out with Yuki a lot as Yuki was also her first friend she made at the school.

"Loveless! Come sit with me for lunch!" Yuki yelled from one end of the classroom. Loveless smiled that peaceful smile she had and walked over to her. She sat opposite Yuki and a girl with bright purple hair was sat next to Yuki.  
"Yuki, who's this?" The girl with purple hair asked.  
"Oh, this is Shimizu Loveless." Yuki explained. Arirang examined Loveless curiously. Loveless bowed and smiled at Arirang. "How do you do?" Arirang smiled back at Loveless.  
"I'm Tsumura Arirang! It's nice to meet you."

Since that day forward, Arirang and Loveless became inseparable. They were best friends for years and where closer than Yuki was to Arirang. But that all fell apart. Arirang began to drift away from Loveless. She had to ways of speaking; her normal, happy voice whilst talking to her other friends and her indifferent voice whilst speaking to Loveless. Loveless was always the last to know everything with her. Arirang also began blanking Loveless for no reason whatsoever and Arirang began talking about Loveless behind her back. This made all of Loveless' other friends fall out with her. Even Yuki at one point refused to speak to Loveless. Loveless became more and more like her name; one without love. Loveless asked Arirang why she was acting the way she was around her; Arirang blanked her and ran off from her. Loveless chased after her and bumped into Arirang's father who shouted at Loveless for bothering his daughter. Arirang stood behind her father and let him yell at Loveless and say everything he did. Arirang soon ran back home and cried her eyes out. She was so scared about losing her only friends.

Arirang then told Loveless to forget her as soon as Loveless began hanging out with new people. On top of that, she thought Loveless was throwing her away and then started saying how she was all alone and isolated from everybody and was enjoying it. Loveless then became sick of Arirang's attitude. She was messing with her head so much, she had to actually speak to a therapist about it. Loveless tried emailing Arirang saying she was sorry for everything and asking Arirang if she could drop the grudge, she knew Arirang read the email as it was marked as read but she got no reply from it. She waited two weeks for a reply and even asked Arirang at school but she got nothing in reply.

Nobody knew Loveless' secret.

Then one day, Loveless stopped going to school. The teacher was worried sick about her and called the people she hung out with, asking people where his student was. Nobody knew where she went; there were some people who thought she committed suicide and some who thought she ran away. She actually stumbled down a hill on her way home and knocked herself out; she woke up in 'wonderland' and all the fear and regret she had for Arirang soon turned into hatred that would last for all eternity.

"That is not what happened Loveless! You were a bitch, you started bullying me and my dad tried to reason with you!" Loveless aimed for Arirang's right shoulder. She fired her arrow into Arirang's shoulder making her squeal.

"I DID NOTHING! YOU BLANKED ME! And what about when you're older brother was picking on me because of my name? YOU DID NOTHING AND WATCHED IT HAPPEN!" Loveless fired a second arrow, hitting it just below her first one.

"YOU DESERVED IT, LOVELESS! YOU WHERE BULLYING ME!" Loveless fired a third arrow, firing it in the middle of the other two arrows. "WHAT DID I SAY TO YOU? WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?" Arirang was indeed the bad guy in the situation. Everything Loveless said was true, she did start blanking her for no reason. Loveless never lied. She was considered a pure and gentle person which a lot of people took to their advantage. So many times Arirang called her names like 'chicken' and 'scaredy cat'. It was because Loveless didn't stand up to herself when she was getting bullied.

Loveless was always good at aiming. When she threw something, she never missed her target. In archery, Loveless was entered in the city tournament and beat everybody by far; she hit every target. Everybody else missed one or two but she got every single one of them. She won in the championship too. Some people in her class actually feared her and kept their distance from her but Loveless didn't like hurting living creatures.

Loveless was also good at medical things. She had first aid training and her friend was a doctor and taught her everything she knew. She had a medical kit she always had in her bag just in case somebody was hurt. But when Arirang was injured after everything happened, she refused to help her. She told her to go to the school nurse as she wasn't going to help her.

"You did that Arirang? You're horrible!" Chesh shook his head. Nobody at Loveless' school was on her side; they were all on Arirang's side. Arirang didn't know what it was like to have people on Loveless' side as nobody was on Loveless' side.

"You're on her side?" Arirang snapped making Chesh run to Hare.  
"Don't speak to Haki that way. Dragon never lies so she won't be lying now! It's your fault that this happened! Dragon has every right to hate you!" Hare snapped back at Arirang.  
"Loveless doesn't hate me! She doesn't understand what hate means!" Loveless growled and aimed her bow for Arirang's heart.

"You should fear me now because I never miss my target! DIE, ARIRANG!" Loveless fired her arrow at Arirang. Arirang gasped as the arrow shot towards her. But Loveless' arrow was caught by Hatter in mid-air.

"Now Dragon, you can't kill my student before I've trained her. You didn't need training as you were already skilled in the bow before but Arirang well…look at her…she has never trained a day in her life! After I've trained her…you can kill her if you want!" Loveless sighed and hooked her bow back onto her back. She walked over to Arirang and yanked out the arrows that were in her shoulder, making Arirang gasp. She bled from her shoulders, staining the dress she just retrieved from Chesh.

"I'll be back later." Loveless' speech was gentle again. She walked over to Chesh.  
"You're limping as you walk, is everything okay with your leg?" Chesh blushed violently and Kit flustered ever so slightly. "FINE! Just fine! Hahaha!" Loveless bowed respectfully and left the garden.

"What's her problem?" Arirang snapped making Chesh lock a cold glare at her.  
"Okay, Arirang-baka, class shall begin." Hatter came out carrying two handfuls of weapons. It consisted of bows and arrows, Katanas, throwing stars and kunai. There where hand weapons too such as guns and daggers. Arirang swallowed nervously. Hatter was one mad person who didn't want to be messed with.

"Stupid Arirang!" Loveless shot her arrow through the middle of her target. She hit the bull's eye.

"Why did she treat me as she did? I know I'm not normal…after all…I am immortal. Did Arirang figure it out?" Loveless kept whispering to herself. Loveless was an immortal. She was from the Edo period in Japan. She was resurrected by an evil woman after a load of bandits murdered her family. The story was a tragic one:

"Oh thank you Dreamless! This bow is perfect!" Loveless bounced up down in joy. She always wanted a bow and her brother finally got one for her.

Dreamless was Loveless' older brother. He was ten years older than her and always felt the need to protect her. He had similar features to Loveless; gentle way of speaking, peaceful blue eyes. He had chestnut brown hair which was put into a small side pony-tail and had Samurai gear on. He had a Katana strapped around his waste which had a dragon on the blade. Dreamless was really a warrior to be feared.

"It's okay. Now, you're a girl so you can't experience battle life but use this bow to protect this house hold if we are ever under attack." Dreamless explained. Dreamless was Loveless' older brother. He cared for his younger sister deeply. Loveless never exactly followed the rules and wanted to go outside and fight but she was only six years old.

"Will you teach me how to use it brother?" Loveless looked up at Dreamless. He smiled down at her a ruffled her hair. "Sure. I will tonight okay?" Loveless smiled heart-warmingly. She jumped up and down before skipping of into the garden to practice.

"Loveless, this is Houseki. She will be staying with us from now on." A small girl with purple hair and blue eyes stood shyly behind Dreamless. She wore a long, pink kimono going down to her ankles and had her hair down but had two tiny pigtails at the top. She carried a bow and arrow set like Loveless and was about her age. Loveless was eight years old when she met Houseki for the first time.

"Why does she have to stay with us Dreamless?" Loveless asked, half annoyed.  
"Her family where killed by the Shinsengumi. We'll be taking care of her from now on." Loveless walked towards Houseki who clung to Dreamless like a toddler.  
"Hmm, I like her. She seems cute. I like her." Loveless smiled at Houseki making her feel welcomed into the family.

"Houseki! Houseki! I know how to heal people now! Isn't that great!" Loveless bounced into Houseki's room with a grin on her face. Loveless and Houseki were fifteen years old and both had skills in medical knowledge.

"That's amazing Loveless, you really are amazing!" Houseki gave Loveless a heart warming smile. "Loveless, I will be gone for a few days but I will come back very soon. I promise!" Loveless' smile faded away. "Where are you going?" Houseki slowly shut her eyes and sighed. "I need to find my sister before something bad happens." Houseki didn't tell Loveless about her sister, Saikahimê. She didn't tell anybody because Saikahimê was a psychopath who loved the idea of killing in the Samurai world. She founded and order named after her which was an organisation for thugs and bandits in Japan. Houseki knew it was an allegation to tell people about her sister and she may have to resort to Seppuku if she did tell people.

"You never told me you had a sister! Have you've been lying all these years?" Loveless' face grew red with anger and disappointment but it only made Houseki chuckle. "You look adorable when you're angry! I wasn't allowed to tell you. I have orders from above to keep her identity secret. When everything is over, I'll tell you all about her! It's a promise but until then…" Houseki left Loveless. She left her without really explaining very much about anything.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! PROTECT MISTRESS SHIMIZU!" Loveless could hear the household yelling for the upcoming battle. Loveless for the woman of the household so all the men felt the need to protect her. Houseki left Loveless one week earlier and didn't return; Loveless was beginning to worry about her. She sighed and picked up her bow and marched outside, to the battle field.

"LOVELESS! GET INSIDE!" Loveless heard her brother yelling at her. He had hold of his Katana which was covered in blood. Loveless could see the court yard. There where limbs and carcasses everywhere. However, Loveless didn't care one bit. She just wanted the Samurai to stop attacking her family.

"I don't care Dreamless!" Loveless aimed her arrow and shot it at the first Samurai who was attacking Dreamless. "DIE!" Loveless kept firing her arrows at all the Samurai. Dreamless never knew the side of Loveless that could kill. She was always so peaceful but she was in shining armour and killing people. Dreamless stood in awe at her. He was too amazed for words. Loveless didn't miss her target, not even once. But, his distraction cost him his life. One Samurai crept up behind Dreamless and stabbed him; the katana going though his chest. Loveless saw everything.

"BROTHER!" Loveless began sobbing. She loved her brother and he was her inspiration. She went up to the Samurai and shot him, aiming for his leg first, then his arms, then his stomach then his eye and finally, she fired the final shot.

"Die slowly and in agony!" The Samurai yelled in agony before falling to the ground, dead. Loveless had a smug smile on her face before a Samurai stabbed her from behind.

"Saikahimệ, what are you up too?" Houseki walked into a dark, damp room. The place was surrounded with Samurai and bandits and at the other end of the room stood Saikahimệ. She had her back too Houseki but she was laughing hysterically. She slowly gazed in Houseki's direction and Houseki could see the blood-lust in her eyes.

"Nothing much, little sister." Saikahimệ flicked back her long, black hair from her face. She smirked over at Houseki. "I'm afraid your little friend is dead however!"

* * *

**_I had a bit of a writer's block with this so sorry for not updating / Gomen ne_**


End file.
